Red-Tailed Hawk!

There has been hardly any new excitiment in my backyard this early spring but I'm patiently waiting for signs of new nests. I did see a couple of House Finches 'checking out' and staking their claim on the existing nest under the saltellite dish a couple of weeks ago but haven't seen then there again. Since it was used successfully twice last year, (I'm guessing by the same couple), I figured they are back and will use it again.
About the Hawk. I was just sitting in my backyard when I heard an in-air scuffle between a Crow and this Hawk. As soon as the parted ways, this fella flew over my yard and I just happened to have my camera. He was way up there so not the clearest picture. You can, however see he is a Red-Tailed Hawk!

Spring Is Near!

It's been a bit since I've posted and that's mainly because I just haven't had any interesting bird photos (well not any good enough to share, that is!). However...I'm just a little excited because as I was opening my blinds Saturday morning what did I see??? The first American Robin of the season! I thought by the time I grabbed my camera it would be gone. Well, it just so happened this Robin hung out on the grass for about 3o minutes. I truly think it was just enjoying the sun as it wasn't really doing much but just sitting there soaking it all in! It was kind enough to hop up on the fence long enough for me to get a couple (slightly out of focus) shots. Good enough for me...Spring is near :) I sure missed their song over the winter!

Great Backyard Bird Count!

The GBBC is this weekend and I'm doing my part, along with my two young helpers! Whether they realize it or not, they're becoming knowledgeable about birds :) My two sons, Hunter(7) and Riley(5) each got me a bird book for Christmas and get excited every time I open one of them! My husband even installed an app for me on his ipod called ChirpUSA!
The count started yesterday(Friday Feb 12th) and goes through Monday(Feb 15th). I'll be counting in my backyard all 4 days and also at the park pond near my house. Yesterday the boys and I counted 65 Mallards and 5 Canada Geese at the park. In my yard there was not as much activity as usual...I only had 2 House Finches, 4 Juncos,1 Northern Flicker and 1 B.C.Chickadee! It's not too late to get your count in!!!!

White-Breasted Nuthatch!

I noticed a new bird at my feeder several days ago and quickly snapped a few photos through the window. They were terrible pictures but enough that I could post them to the FeederWatch forum for identification. Turns out it's a White-Breasted Nuthatch. I've been waiting patiently for him to return and he finally did! This time I was waiting for him with my camera ready! I was lucky to catch the Downy in the same shot!!!

Female Downy Woodpecker!

I always see the male but on this day I noticed he had a friend!!!!

Variety of Birds at my Feeder!

I noticed my feeder was getting a lot of attention and decided to take a quick video. Turns out this short video captured 4 variety of birds. First a Downy Woodpecker and House Finch then a Dark-eyed Junco at the tube feeder followed by two Red-brested Nuthatches and more House Finches at the end! I've muted the sound as it was taken through my kitchen window while the boys were eating lunch and making a ruckus, lol!

Hooded Merganser!

I spotted this fellow amongst the Mallards at my local pond. I wish I would've had my better camera. I always have my point-and-shoot just in case I spot something interesting.

Female House Finch

I usually take pictures of the male House Finch because of his beautiful red color but I thought I'd give this female the spotlight today!

Female Northern Flicker

I've gotten many pictures of the male Northern Flicker that visits my backyard but today I got a photo of the female who comes around less often!

Feeding Frenzy!

Just a couple of action shots of the feeder!

Project Feederwatch and new photos!

I guess it's been awhile since I've updated this blog! I was excited to see this new visitor to my feeder and turns out he's now become a regular! I decided to sign up for Project Feederwatch and last week was my first week counting. I suspect my count will be pretty much the same everytime because lately I have the same visitors everyday. 6 House Finches, roughly 6 Juncos(maybe more), 2 Black-capped Chickadees, 2 Flickers and 1 Downy Woodpecker. On rare occasions I see a Red-breasted Nuthatch but not often.

Black-capped Chickadee!

I've seen and heard lots of these little guys at and around my feeder but they're so quick I can never get a good photo of one. I was finally determined to sit in my yard until I did!

I was also lucky enough to get this shot of a male House Finch and a Chickadee sharing a tree!

And... a couple more of the male House Finch just because... :)

New bird feeder!

I was thinking about offering seut in addition to the black oil sunflower seeds so I bought this functional feeder! It holds 5 lbs of seed and 2 suet blocks. It's been about a week now and the birds have barely touched the suet. They took to the feeder right away, though.

Northern Flicker at my feeder!

For several weeks now I suspected this Flicker was emptying my feeder just about everyday! I saw him at my feeder on occasion but it didn't seem like he was there long enough to eat a whole feeder of seed in one day. Then I noticed tons of uncracked seeds on the ground below the feeder. I Finally caught him in the act. He was at my feeder just pecking at all the seeds and throwing them all to the ground like he was looking for something better. Can you see all the seeds piled up under his feet??? Of course I have two squirrels that are dining very well right below the feeder these days. I'm not sure what to do to deter him from doing this because it's getting expensive having to fill it everyday. I was thinking about getting a Suet feeder so he'll go there instead.

Chipping Sparrow (I think) and Bird Bath De-icer!

My latest backyard visitor! In my quest to identify this bird I found that a Brewer's Sparrow and a Chipping Sparrow(winter plumage) are hard to distinguish. After looking at many pictures of both, I'm pretty sure this is a winter-plumage Chipping Sparrow! Frame created by KimB! Next topic...

My new Bird Bath De-Icer!

Greg mounted a nice bracket and ran an extension cord out to the shed, getting it all hooked up safely to last the winter months. A closer look at his handywork of slicone and electrical tape....

You can never be too safe when it comes to electricity AND water!

Me, filling it up to test it out!

It needed to be weighted down with a rock so it wouldn't float but seems to be working nicely. All we neednow is some sub-zero weather to test it :)

Dark-Eyed Junco (pink-sided)

It's only October 28th and we our in the midst of our first major snowstorm here in Colorado! With the snow came a new species to my feeder today! I happened to glance out my window and had to take a double-take at these incredibly fat birds (like little Robins on steroids!). I grabbed my camera and didn't get the most colorful pictures but I'm glad I at least got these as they didn't stay long.
This evening I tried to identify the bird type but wasn't having much luck. Suddenly, I received a comment from Cynthia on an older post stating that she saw two Black-eyed Juncos at her feeder just after the snow started. Being rather new to all this bird identification, I did a search to see what Juncos looked like. Low and behold there was my bird! Thanks Cynthia for helping me out! :) They are cute little things, that's for sure!

Finch at the Feeder!

I thought my house finches all left for the winter but now I'm starting to see a few of them at my feeder again. I don't know much about their migration patterns but maybe they stay around through the winter in Colorado. I guess I shall see! I didn't realize until I zoomed in on the photo after I took it that I captured the sunflower seed mid flight! Cool!

Some new visitors to my feeder!

A Blue Jay grabbing a peanut from my feeder! I think this is the first time I've actually seen a Blue Jay although I've heard their unmistakable call my whole life:)


Now this bird I had to research to identify. Turns out it is a Red-breasted Nuthatch! I only saw it at my feeder two times one day and luckily the second time I had my camera! In the picture below, I like how the finch is peeking around the corner watching the other bird with interest :)

All summer long the only birds I saw at my feeder were house finches and the occasional house sparrow so I was thrilled to have a chance to photograph some birds with a little color for a change! I recently bought some bird food with peanuts in it so that may be the reason for the new visitors. I hope to see more but with winter approaching I really have no idea what kind of birds I'll see as I never watched birds in the winter before :)